Thursday, January 12, 2006

I spent too much of today trapped in the holding pen for prospective jurors at the Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco. No blogging about it yet; there is some infinitesimally remote possibility I could end up on a jury, so it would be improper.

But in the intervals as we were herded from room to room, I did get a lot of reading done, some of it worth sharing here. Doug Henwood's Left Business Observer is a lot more interesting than its rudimentary web site might suggest. In Issue #112, I particularly enjoyed Henwood's bemused observations on the strange moment the Bush regime has led us into. Here is a sample:

For those of us who cut our teeth on the power-structure studies of William Domhoff...it's been quite a surprise to watch the Bush administration in action. Though it should have known better, it started a pointless war that's put U.S. power and prestige at severe risk, and it's driven the government's accounts deep into the red, and it's financed both reckless adventures with huge gobs of money borrowed from abroad. A serious ruling class might have reined them in long ago, but our elite has been too narcoticized by its tax cuts --your average millionaire got a $60,000 break, more than the pretax income of the average household -- to complain. ...And since the Dems serve a dual role, as the "popular" party and as the party of an alternative elite, their dithering reflects a crisis at the upper levels of our society, as well as the disorganization at the lower levels.

Interesting. You won't find Henwood's stuff online; you might find it worthwhile to subscribe to his print newsletter.

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What's this blog about?

My musings on current events, current projects, current anxieties and current delights.

I started this under the Bush regime when any grain of sand thrown into the gears of the over-reaching imperial state seemed worthwhile.

I have worked to elect more and better Democrats -- and to hammer the shit out of them once we get them in office so they do the things their constituents want and need. It's a big job.

I have endured the dashed potential for a more transformational regime under Obama. The man has made himself an accomplice in the imperial crimes of his predecessor as well as committing his own. He has also almost certainly been the most progressive president most of us will live to see. I fear we'll look back on his years in office with mild gratitude for a respite from national leadership that was habitually stupid and vicious, as well as wrong.

Visitors here will find a lot of commentary on books I'm reading. I am very intentionally reading intensively offline these days. When it feels hard to find direction, it's time to learn something new.

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About Me

I'm a progressive political activist who runs trails and climbs mountains whenever any are available. I've had the privilege to work for justice in Central America (Nicaragua and El Salvador), in South Africa, in the fields of California with the United Farmworkers Union, and in the cities and schools of my own country. I'm a Christian of the Episcopalian flavor; we think and argue a lot. For work, I've done a bit of it all: run an old fashioned switch-board; remodeled buildings and poured concrete; edited and published periodicals, reports and books; and organized for electoral campaigns. I am currently an independent consultant to organizations seeking "help when you have to make a fight."